I mailed my little present back to Mayo Monday. FedEx picked it up a little after 4pm. The VERY next day at 1:30pm, I got a call from my doctor at Mayo and I was a little worried as it hadn't even been 24 hours since it was picked up. First thing I thought was, "Oh crap! (literally) I bet the box got damaged and there's a huge mess for someone to clean up AND I realllllllly do not want to have to redo this test."
I got a chance to listen to my voicemail and she said something to this effect, "Hi Heather! It's Sheila. Just calling to let you know we got your present and processed it. You poor girl....you must be miserable! A normal screening would be anywhere from 2-7 and yours is at a 54. Please call me back when you get this as we really need to chat."
I got a chance to listen to my voicemail and she said something to this effect, "Hi Heather! It's Sheila. Just calling to let you know we got your present and processed it. You poor girl....you must be miserable! A normal screening would be anywhere from 2-7 and yours is at a 54. Please call me back when you get this as we really need to chat."
FIFTY-FOUR!!!!! And NORMAL is 2-7!!!
So, I called her back. I was wondering if there was a max number for starters and she said, "No, not really, but I will tell you that when I saw your number I about fell off my chair as it's the highest I've EVER seen. Next closest is 45. I know you like being an over-achiever, but this is a bit much." haha! Well, we chatted and I will now be going on creon which is a digestive enzyme to help out my poor little pancreas that just can't keep up. These are little tablets and I will have to take 3-5 during every meal and 2-3 during every snack. We will re-evaluate in a month, but she thinks this will kick the extra greasy stools, bloat, and tiredness. Biggest kicker- I will probably have to do this for life. Not the best of news, but expected....and if this is the only issue I've had/will have, I'll take it!!
So, I called her back. I was wondering if there was a max number for starters and she said, "No, not really, but I will tell you that when I saw your number I about fell off my chair as it's the highest I've EVER seen. Next closest is 45. I know you like being an over-achiever, but this is a bit much." haha! Well, we chatted and I will now be going on creon which is a digestive enzyme to help out my poor little pancreas that just can't keep up. These are little tablets and I will have to take 3-5 during every meal and 2-3 during every snack. We will re-evaluate in a month, but she thinks this will kick the extra greasy stools, bloat, and tiredness. Biggest kicker- I will probably have to do this for life. Not the best of news, but expected....and if this is the only issue I've had/will have, I'll take it!!
Wow, that is sure a high number but is there an explanation as to why you are not absorbing fat??? I am not sure I understand it all but I am pleased for you that some little pills should help and you will be ok and your life back to normal. I felt sick just reading all the food you had to eat before the test!!! but you did and well done.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I thought when she told me my number, too. WOW!!! She said that the stomach breaks down the food/fat and then your pancreas breaks it down more. Since my stomach is out of the equation, it's going straight for my pancreas and sending it into overdrive and it just cannot keep up, so it just spits out the fat as a whole (hence the grease orbs). I asked what would have happened had we not done this test and caught this. She said eventually I would have fell violently ill...felt terrible, lots of diarrhea, nauseous, lethargic. Eventually, it would have caught up with me. She made no mention of my pancreas losing a battle or anything like that, so that was relieving!! AND...so far, other than the first day of being on these tablets, I have had good and normal stool...similar to before surgery and I'm not in the bathroom quite as much. So, that's been nice!!! It just stinks carrying around this pill bottle everywhere I go and having to take them here and there while eating, BUT...it could be so much worse!!!! I guess I'll take it for now! :)
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